1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a self contained computer disk drive bracket for securing a hard disk drive to a computer housing.
2. Related Art
When designing a computer many factors must be considered. Some technical considerations are: processor speed, bus size, memory requirements, and the physical size of the computer housing. When positioning components within the computer housing it is desirable to position some components such that they are easily removable by and easily assembled by a user or technician. An example of such a component is a hard disk drive.
Disk drive brackets secure disk drives to the computer housing. It is often desirable to design disk drive brackets to permit a user or a technician to easily secure the hard disk drives to the housing and to permit the hard disk drives to be easily removed from the housing. Hard disk drives are usually secured within the disk drive bracket. This bracket is then secured to the housing. Typically, the bracket is secured to the housing via screws or bolts that are inserted through the bracket and into the housing. This method has many disadvantages. When removing the hard disk drive bracket, screws are periodically misplaced. If all of the screws are not used to attach the bracket to the computer housing, the bracket may not be secure. If the disk drive bracket is not secure the disk drive may vibrate excessively. Such vibration may damage the disk drive and components adjacent to the disk drive or may adversely affect data storage and retrieval.
Another disadvantage of using screws or bolts to secure the disk drive bracket to the housing is that when replacing the disk drive, the user or the technician must physically unscrew each screw in order to disengage the disk drive bracket from the housing. Such a process is tedious and time consuming.
Another computer requirement is that the computer housing must be able to support objects placed thereon. Frequently computer monitors or other heavy objects are placed on the housing cover. The computer must be designed to support such objects without having the housing cover buckle under the object's weight. Attempts to solve this problem include using stronger and more rigid material for the housing cover and the housing walls. This technique may solve the problem. However, the cost of this solution includes higher production costs, i.e., for the housing material, and increased system weight. Another solution involves placing supports inside the housing. This solution also entails additional costs and additional system weight. An apparatus for supporting the housing cover without increasing the cost or the weight of the computer system is desirable.
What is needed is a self contained disk drive bracket which enables the user to quickly and efficiently secure the disk drive bracket to the housing and to quickly and efficiently disengage the disk drive bracket from the housing. In addition the disk drive brackets should be capable of supporting the housing cover without increasing the weight of the computer system.